- Hemiprocne comata
Identification
With 16cm (6¼ in) the smallest of the four Treeswifts.
- Dark bronze body, dark blue wings
- Slightly crested
- Bold white supercilium from forehead to hindnape
- Second parallel white stripe from chin to neck
- Head otherwise glossy black with dark chestnut ear-coverts in male
- Female with blue-green ear-coverts
- Juveniles are finely barred brown, grey, tawny and white and are perfectly camouflaged, looking like a branch
Distribution
Southeast Asia. Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and the Philippines. Still common in most of its range and not globally threatened.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Two subspecies recognized[1]:
- H.c. comata on Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and Borneo
- H.c. major on the Philippines
Habitat
Evergreen forest, locally also found in mature mangroves. From the plains up to ca. 1000m. Tends to prefer original forest.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on insects. Forages like other Treeswifts from perches. Usually not seen much above canopy height.
Breeding
Breeds from February to August. Breeds solitary in a half-saucer of saliva with feathers. Lays 1 egg.
Movements
Resident. Birds are believed to stay in their breeding territory all year.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Whiskered Treeswift. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Whiskered_Treeswift
